Jhulan Goswami admits World Cup 2017 defeat will hurt, till India win an ICC event

The Indian team was in great position in the Women’s World Cup final. They looked on course to achieve a historic win. When the finishing line was in sight, we saw a collapse. India lost their last 7 wickets in very short time and it was heartbreak for the Indian women. Pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami admitted that the defeat still hurts and will continue to do so till the Indian team wins an ICC event.

Targeting World T20 2018

Goswami was present in the Fanattic Sports Museum to present her semi final shirt to the museum. The pacer lamented the fact that she has only managed two runner-ups finishes in the World Cup in her career. She said that finishing second always hurts and wants to focus on World T20 in 2018.

“I have played four World Cups and finished runners-up twice (2005 and 2017). Whatever people say, finishing second hurts and till we win an ICC event, it won’t go away. It doesn’t matter whether I am there or not then. The World T20 next year in the West Indies, therefore, is huge for the team,” said Goswami as quoted by The Hindustan Times

The Bengal fast bowler who will turn 36 next year, said that she is trying to maintain her fitness so that she can continue to play for 3-4 more years. World T20 next year is the big target, and right-arm pacer said that tours should be scheduled keeping the preparation for the big tournament in mind.

“We will need to ramp up fitness and look for power-hitters,” she said.

Need to shoulder weight of expectations

Jhulan admitted that the Indian team will be scrutinized more now, as people have much more expectations from the team after their incredible performance in the World Cup. “While every team member is deservedly enjoying the attention now, how we handle expectations and criticism will be crucial to how we perform. The days ahead will be tough,” she said.

The pace spearhead is the highest wicket-taker in Women’s ODIs having taken 195 wickets. She is only five shy of becoming the first woman to take 200 wickets in ODIs, but Goswami said she is only focussed on delivering what the team needs rather than going for personal records.

“I had set a target of 181 (to become the world’s leading ODI wicket-taker) and such was the pressure that my performance dipped. So now, I only tell myself to do what the team needs.” she stated.